Massachusetts man facing up to 20 years in prison in drug trafficking investigation involving agencies statewide

BOSTON – A drug distributor within a Massachusetts drug trafficking organization pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy involving cocaine and cocaine base (crack cocaine).

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 47-year-old Keith Daye, of Boston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Feb. 15, 2023.

Daye was charged with 23 others in June 2020 as part of Operation Snowfall, which ultimately resulted in the charging of two different drug trafficking conspiracies during the overall period of November 2018 through June 2020. Daye is the final defendant to plead guilty in the Fidelis-Way related drug conspiracy.

Beginning in November 2018, law enforcement investigated a DTO in which Daye was a drug distributor. The DTO was comprised of Boston-based street gang members and associates in the Commonwealth Development in Brighton, formerly known as Fidelis Way, a multi-apartment public housing development. The DTO assumed control over multiple apartments, which they used to store, cook, package, and sell drugs – most of which consisted of cocaine or cocaine base, which the DTO supplied to customers, wholesalers and distributors. As a result, the DTO caused a blight of the development and reduced the quality of life of the other residents.

Daye supplied and distributed cocaine to at least one Fidelis Way DTO member as well as to others outside of the Fidelis Way DTO. In one instance, Daye was observed meeting with a drug customer at the time and manner agreed upon during calls intercepted by law enforcement. During a subsequent traffic stop of the drug customer following the meeting approximately 125 grams of cocaine was recovered from the vehicle.

In total, Daye is estimated to have distributed between approximately 28 and 120 grams of crack cocaine during the course of his participation in the charged drug conspiracy and, in total, between 200 and 300 grams of cocaine (including both powder and base).

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

First Assistant United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Boston Field Division; Bryan Kyes, U.S. Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; Colonel Christopher Mason, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. Assistance with the investigation was provided by the Braintree, Cambridge, Canton, Randolph and Weymouth Police Departments; the Suffolk, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorneys’ Offices; and the Suffolk, Plymouth and Norfolk County Sheriffs’ Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell and Timothy E. Moran of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.